The revelation on what type of team SWAT: Exiles will have seems to show just how poorly planned out this new spinoff is.
SWAT was an amazing survival story for CBS. The reboot of the 1970s TV show was a hit when it premiered in 2017, focusing on the elite batch of cops handling various emergencies in Los Angeles. It was a perennial ratings winner that gained a huge fanbase.
That was proven as not once but twice, CBS canceled the series only for the massive backlash to make them reconsider and renew it. They did finally cancel it after its eighth season, although it turns out it’s not the end.
As soon as the show ended, Sony Television announced plans for SWAT: Exiles, a new spinoff series. The plotline has Hondo (Shemar Moore) forced into retirement for some reason, only to be called back to gather a new team of recruits.
It’s an unusual direction for the franchise, starting with why Hondo would be retired in the first place. That it’s only him coming back rather than the other SWAT characters is a move so unpopular that Shemar Moore himself spoke about it.
However, the latest updates on just who this new SWAT team is may be concerning how this spinoff is on the wrong track.
Who are the new SWAT characters?
So far, there’s no word on casting for the series aside from Moore. However, TVLine has reported the characters being selected, which are less an elite team of cops and more like a network version of the Suicide Squad.
Per the article, 'casting is underway for a charismatic, Black former Marine from South Central; an undercover cop with a questionable shooting in his past; an amputee who was at the top of her class at the academy and refuses to ride a desk; a tactical prodigy with a disruptive lack of social skills; and a former beauty queen who now works as a law enforcement “influencer.”'
Now, the first two characters don’t sound bad at all. A former Marine who may be an old friend of Hondo’s is a natural move that could have fit well on the actual SWAT show. Likewise, the undercover cop being forced to take on a more open role while dealing with his past can also be an interesting character.
As for the rest…the female amputee is an odd pick to be sure, as it may be good for representation yet also distracting for audiences to see as a strong character on her own. At least she sounds more like a regular cop than the cliche of “tech guy who can’t handle being around people” that we’ve seen already on TV shows. But the beauty queen turned influencer? That’s something out of The Rookie rather than SWAT.
Indeed, these characters strike one more in line with the now-canceled The Rookie: Feds spinoff, a team of misfits who appear just pushed on Hondo because the LAPD doesn’t really want them in other departments. Hence, the “Exiles” title, they’re being exiled to Hondo’s squad.
The point of SWAT is that it’s the best of the best of the LAPD, with professionals who train their whole careers to get onto the team. It’s not supposed to be a “backup” for someone whose career is on the skids. If this were some original TV show about a pack of misfits tossed together, it might be okay, but having it in the SWAT universe is something else.
There were so many directions a SWAT spinoff could go, like Hondo leading a new team or him moving to a different city. There could have been a spinoff about Deacon and his security firm or even catch up on Street in San Diego. This is just bizarre with Hondo taking on a team of strangers who seemingly have no business being on SWAT.
If anything, this sounds like the upcoming CBS Boston Blue show that was originally planned as an original show, only to insert Donnie Wahlberg’s Blue Bloods character into it. This seems to be the same thing, someone taking an idea of misfit cops and putting Hondo into it with the SWAT name.
This is less in the spirit of SWAT and just Sony cashing in on the name. We already saw NBC try that with Suits: LA, which ended up flopping. That doesn’t bode well as SWAT fans may be miffed at this new direction to stay away.
Maybe the show can connect if they cast the right actors and build on the idea of Hondo turning these people into a tight unit. It can still star Moore and plenty of action and continue the SWAT tradition. Yet the unusual characters look like SWAT: Exiles may not be what fans expect which could go badly for the show.
SWAT streaming on Paramount+.
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